Marijuana legalization will have big impact on Kansas: survey

Legalization of marijuana in Colorado will have a big impact on Kansas but the impact may not be all negative, a survey of law enforcement agencies carried out by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office suggested.

State AG Derek Schmidt that his office received responses from nearly four hundred Kansas law enforcement agencies and DAs indicating that less marijuana is being seized but the seized drug was higher in potency than the drug smuggled in from Mexico.

The survey also showed that the legal system has been swept by altering attitudes about the pot, with some law enforcement agencies no longer enforcing drug laws much.

Releasing the survey results, Schmidt said, “The criminal justice system is moving in the direction of what appears to be changes in public attitude. Obviously not moving as far as some people would like, but there is obviously an evolution or a change, and this showed that it has reached the enforcement level as well.”

Around 75 per cent of Colorado’s counties and towns reported confiscation of marijuana fewer than 5 times between 2014 and 2015. Schmidt said law enforcement should use discretion and consider factors like cost but they should remain consistent.

Like Colorado, the states of Alaska, Oregon and Washington have legalized recreational use of marijuana. Many other states, including California, Maine, Nevada and Massachusetts, are set to vote on their respective initiatives to legalize the drug this fall.